Reinhold ii



BEST AVAILABLE coP '(No Model.)

R. H. & F. H. WAPPLER. RHEOSI'AT FORELECTRIG LAMPS.

No. 604,949. A I {Patented May 31, 1898.

\ BEST AVAlLABLE COP: UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

REINHOLD Il. W'APPLER AND FREDRIOK II. WAPPLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

,RHEOSTAT FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS lSPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 604,949, dated May 31, 1898.

.Application filed September 20, 1897. Serial No. 652,266. (No model.)

To alt whom it ntay concern:

Be it known thatwe, REINHOLD H. WAP- PLER and FREnRIc I-I. WAPPLER,citizens of the-United State's, residing in the city and State of NewYork,ha've invented an Improvement in Rheostats for Electric Lamps andother Transforming Devices, of which the following is a specification.

.Diificulty has heretofore been experienced in'turning down or reducingthe luminosity of incandescent-electric lamps, and when a resistance orrheostat is thrown into the circuit to lessen the current the partsoften become dangerously heated.

Inaddition to the foregoing a branch or derived circuit is sometimesdesired in connection with an electric lamp-such, for instance,

a circuit for charging a secondary battery -r heating water,curling-irons, or similar s, or for plating.

present invention relates to a pecul- ,y in the rheostat whereby a largeresist- .nce is concentrated into a small space and the risk of heatingor injuring is redueed to a minimum, and we arrange the circuitconnections with reference to diverting any desiredroportion of currentinto a shunt or derived circuit and for regulating the current flowingthrough the incandescent electric V is screwed to the ceiling rose orfixture, and

this rheostat B is between the heads F and G of insulating material, andone terminal of the lamp is connected'with the socket 3 and the otherwith the central bolt 5, and the current is supplied through the fixtureto the central bolt 5 and fixture-socket 4.

The rheostat B is made of atube 6,,preferably of brass, supportedbetween the heads F and G, and this tube 6 is coated with insulatingmaterial in the form of a varnish, such as that usually known as enamel,and this is adapted to being softened by heat, but is an insulator ofelectricity, and the wire-'7 is wound upon this enamel surface, theconvolutions. setting close to each other, but not pressed intocont-act, and we find that by heating the wire sufiticiently to oxidizethe surface the convolutions may be wound close together and theoxidation will form a suliicient insu-' lation, and after the wire hasbeen closely wound upon the enameled surface of the tube 6 the parts areheated su iiiciently to cause the wire and enamel to adhere, and therebyhold the wire and prevent the same slipping laterally by the rubbingcontacts hereinafter spoken of, and we find it generally preferable tocoatthe surface of the wire of the rheostat with suitable enamel orvarnish, except at the sides, where the contacts 8 and 9 are employed.These contacts 8 and 9 are upon slider-bars H-and K, supported at theirends by the heads F and G, and the contacts upon the slider-bars areusually in the form of springs, the outer ends resting upon and rubbingagainst the convolutions of the wire of the rheostat as the contacts maybe moved toward one head or the other, and in order to protect therheostat and to prevent the risk of fire should the rheostat-wire becomeheated we employ a casing. L, of perforated sheet metal, the samesurrounding the rheostat at a suitable distance and being supported atits ends by the heads F and G, and the insulating heads or buttons, bywhich the contacts 8 and 9 are moved, project through slots in theeasing L.

One end of the electric-lamp filament is connected with one end of therheostat-wire 7,

p This casing allows air to circulate, r through the perforations.

and the other end of this rheostat-wire is connected with the source ofelectric energy advantageou'sly through the screw-socket 4, and

- one of the circuit-wires supplying the current lamp more or less ofthe rheostat B, because when the contact 8 is at the end of the rheostatnearest the lamp the current will be short-circuited through theslider-bar H and v 4 604,94, BESTAVAILABLECOP.

- contact 8 and pass to the lamp without being lessened bythe'rcsist-ance, and by moving the contact 8 away from the lampresistance will be thrown into any desired extent to reduce 5 theluminosity of the lamp. We usually make use of the two bars II and K,and in this instance a shunt, branch, or derived circuit M can beconnected to the lamp, and in this shunt-circuit a secondary battery,motor,

. IO heater, or other transforming device can be made use of, asindicated at M, and the ends of this shunt-circuit are connected withthe and the other circuit connection -say the,

positive-is to the rheostat.

Referring now to the diagram Figs. 3, 4, and 5, it will be seen that theelectric lamp is in aconstantly-closed circuit through the rhe- 2 5ostatB to the source of electric'energy, and that by moving the contacts8 and 9, Figs. 4 and 5, the current diverted into the shunt M can beregulated. If the contact 9 is in the position illustrated in Fig. 4 andnear-the end of the rheostat distant from the lamp and the contact 8' isnear the lamp, the resistance of the rheostat will be added to theresistance of the lamp and a current will be diverted through 9 into theshunt-circuit M in propor- 3 5- tion to the resistance in that circuitand the return will be through the lamp and by 5 to the negative of thesupply. If, on the-other hand, the contact 9 is near the lam and thecontact 8, distant therefrom, as in ig. 5, the 4o'current will pass fromthe positive by 8 and H to the lamp and return by 5 to the negative andbut a slight current will pass into the shunt-circuit M throughtherheostat B and contact 9, returning through the lamp.

When the circuit connections are made as indicated in Fig. 4, therheostatB remains as a constant resistance in the lamp-circuit, and bymoving the contacts 8 and 9 more or less current can be diverted intothe shunt-circuit and the polarity or direction of current re-Versed-that'is to say, when 9 is near the lamp and 8 distant from thelamp the resistance of the rheostat B will cause the current to passthrough the shunt-circuit M in the direction 5 5 of the arrow 15, thecurrent returningby K and 9 through the lamp. 4

If, on the other hand, the contact 8 is near the lamp and the contact 9distant from the damp, the current will pass by 9 through M in thedirection of the arrow 16 and return by 8 through the lamp, and byplacing the contacts 8 and 9 in the proper positions the proportion ofcurrent or thedirection of current diverted through the shunt can beregulated, and the same being a branch from the main 6 5 circuit and thelamp connected in series the luminosity of the lamp will not bematerially varied by the current through M.

The present improvement allows the rheostat to occupy but a small spaceand also pro- 70. vides for a shunt or derived circuit to be establishedand regulated from the lamp and the direction of current to be changed,if desired ,or renderednecessaryin supplying a secondary battery. 7 5 Weclaim as our invention- 1. In combination with the ordinary incandescentelectric lamp, two heads of insulating 'material', a socket connectionupon one head for the incandescent lamp, and a socket connection on theother head for the socket or electric-lamp fixture, a rheostat-coilbetween the insulating-heads, a bar also between the heads, a slidingcontact in the electric circuit and upon the bar and resting upon therheostat-coil and having a knob or head by which it is adapted to bemoved toward onehead or the other for varying the resistance in thelamp-circuit, and a casing of sheet metal multiperforated andsurrounding the rheostat e and bar to protect thesame and allow a freecirculation of air, the casing being slotted for the knob or head of thesliding contact, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination in an electric eircui of a rheostat composed'of ametal tube 3* enamel or similar insulating material u the surfacethereof, and naked wire having I an oxidized surface closely wound upontheinsulating-surface of the metal tube, and a 1C0 sliding contact inthe electric circuit resting on the convolutions of the wire, forvarying the resistance in the circuit, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a source of elec- 1.05 tric energy and with anincandescent electric lamp, of a rheostat composed of a coil of wire inthe closed circuit containing the lamp, two stationary bars each havinga slider thereupon in contact with the rheostatcoil, and a no shunt orderived circuit connected with the slider-bars and containing atransforming device, for'varying the resistance in the lamp circuit andthe current diverted into the shunt-circuit, substantially as set forth.1 r 5 Signed by us this 17th day of September, 1897.

' REINHOLD I-I. WAPPLER. FREDRICK II. WAPPLER.

Witnesses: r

Gno. T. PINCKNEY,

LEMUEL W. SERRELL.

